


A Mother's Tale: Innocence Lost

by A Magiluna Stormwriter (ariestess)



Series: A Mother's Tale [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Community: purimgifts, Epistolary, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-13
Updated: 2014-03-13
Packaged: 2018-01-15 13:25:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1306480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariestess/pseuds/A%20Magiluna%20Stormwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Henry stumbles upon Regina's journal and learns things about his mother he never knew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Mother's Tale: Innocence Lost

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SailorSol](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorSol/gifts).



> Author's notes to come after the reveal. But thank you to my beta.

The journal lies open in front of him. Henry knows he shouldn't read it, but she's usually so good about keeping the plain leather-bound book hidden away. Surely this must be some sort of permission for him to read it, right? He glances around cautiously before tiptoeing closer to the desk. Settling in her comfortable chair, his fingers stroke the thick, creamy paper while his eyes trace the distinctive loops and lines of her handwriting.

> I should know better than to think that anyone will remember or share things as I do. I don't know why I keep expecting the best from others. Or myself. No one else has or ever will. The only people who truly saw me for who and what I was and should be were Daddy and Daniel.
> 
> It was supposed to be a good childhood, a good life. Daddy was a prince, the youngest son and fifth in line for the throne. There was never a chance that he'd wear the crown, let alone me as his only child. But Mama had other ideas for us. While Daddy and I were content to live the relatively obscure life of minor nobility on our estate in the country, raising our horses and just enjoying life, Mama did everything she could to make me into the queen she'd always wanted to be. So many lessons in deportment, history, languages, the finer arts at which any proper princess or queen should excel. Daddy once told me that Mama's lessons for me were more rigorous than what he'd been subjected to growing up in Grandfather's castle with his brothers and sisters.
> 
> Thank the gods that I had a natural aptitude for horsemanship. It was my way of escaping the strict guidelines that Mama had set up for me. It just so happened that the equestrian skills were highly sought after in the Enchanted Forest, so Mama was mollified as long as I didn't get _too_ dirty or miss my lessons and tea time.
> 
> Tea time… I've never hated an hour of the day more in my entire life. To this day, there are blends of tea that will make me sick to my stomach. There's a reason I prefer the coffee of this land better. Well, more than one, but that's another story for another day, isn't it?
> 
> When Daniel came along, I honestly thought my life was changing for the better. I was head over heels in love with him. He was handsome, kind, sweet, strong, and he did everything he could to make me smile. He didn't care that I was a princess. He saw past the pomp and rigid strictures that Mama placed on me, on the whole household. He saw the girl who was happiest on the back of a horse, racing across the meadows at breakneck speeds, laughter torn from her lips with the wind whipping past her. He saw the good in me and never criticized me out of hand. Not like Mama always did.
> 
> The span of time that surrounded me saving Snow from that runaway horse is still one of the worst in my entire life. I was fundamentally changed that day, and it wasn't a good one. When I first met Snow, she was a sweet, beautiful, _hopeful_ girl. Despite the years separating our ages, I could have befriended her easily. But when her father proposed to get a mother for Snow, and Mama accepted for me, I honestly felt the cracks marring the surface of my heart.
> 
> All I wanted was to marry Daniel, have his children, and live happily on a small piece of land as we raised horses together. I never wanted to be a queen or take full advantage of the opportunities brought about by my royal birth. That was Mama's wish, not mine, and not Daddy's either. But Mama ran the household, no matter what anyone else wanted. She had powerful magic and she used it to keep us all in line.
> 
> So when Snow found me kissing Daniel in the stables that night, even when she promised to keep my secret, I had the hope of getting away with Daniel to have that life with him that we both wanted. But Mama was always a master manipulator and she managed to finagle the truth out of Snow, despite her promises to me. And later that night, as we tried to sneak away, Mama found us and killed Daniel. It was the first time I saw a heart being taken. It felt like she tore mine out, too…

He blinks and pushes away from the desk, wiping at the moisture gathering in his eyes. This isn't what he'd heard from his grandmother about their first meeting. This wasn't what he'd ever known about his mother at all. With a heavy sigh, he stroked his finger over the familiar handwriting again, then left the office, heading up to his room to lie down and think about what he'd just read.

* * *

  
  
[source](http://shikabane-mai.tumblr.com/post/63842590153/eveparrilla-regina-in-03x03-quite-the-common)   



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